~ juggling life with style

Monthly Archives: February 2014

This week my friend Katherine introduced me to her Erin Condren Life Planner.

Why, Katherine? Why?

Seriously. If you remember this post, then you know I have issues with paper. Now I’m flat out calling it Paper Lust. And I have it bad. But that’s not what this post is about.

This post is about color. You may remember this post about ways I’m making February fabulous. It seems I didn’t say anything about color. I believe much of the reason February is so, ahem, tedious is because life becomes grey in winter. But for me it shall be grey no more.

Back to Erin Condren and the friend who introduced us. When I looked through Katherine’s planner, I noticed that vibrant color splashed across each page, starting with the print and then added in with fun stickers. Once home, I skimmed various posts about Erin Condren’s products. I noticed that her fans got creative: fun pen colors, washi tape (how did I miss that memo?), stickers—anything you can think of to make each page fun. And fun equals happy. And happy equals, well, happy.

Suddenly my long marriage to pencil or—at best—black pen seemed dry and empty. I looked at the sad pages of my planner (yes, I switched back to paper this January) and it hurt my heart. No wonder working from a list seems so tedious these days.

It took less than 24 hours (and a very kind husband) to convince me to take the plunge and order my Erin Condren Life Planner. I’ll talk more about that once it arrives, but suffice it to say the next 10-14 days of waiting will be painful. Especially after seeing so many fun, colorful ideas.

(Note: If you’re interested in checking out Erin Condren’s products, click here for $10 off your first order. Just note–the discount expires 30 days after you activate your account.)

Not being one to sit on my backside and wait, I decided to make a refrigerator calendar for our family. I printed March up in black and white, then added enough color to make me want to keep looking at it. Of course I used lots of green because, in addition to it being St. Patty’s Day, it’s my favorite color. To me, green speaks of calm and hope—growth. I’ve also incorporated plenty of yellow for happiness.

This one small exercise has inspired me to look around my home and see where else I can add color. There are already splashes of every color except purple. Considering that purple conveys extravagance, anyone who knows my spending habits will understand why that doesn’t describe me. And, surprisingly, purple can evoke feelings of gloom and depression—one more reason I haven’t welcomed it into my home (This is in no way a judgment on those who do.)

Our cousin Stephanie describes her home as an Easter egg. The rooms on her main floor are yellow, lime green, turquoise, Kelly green, and fuscia. As she puts it, when you walk into her house you either have a seizure or become incredibly happy. For me, it was happy, but in my own life that much color is intimidating. And I wonder—why? Is it because I want to play it safe by decorating with taupes and browns and using a black pen in my planner?

Neutral is safe. Everything goes with neutrals. No pallet is offended, but there’s also no sense of surprise or wonder. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good, warm brown, but when is the last time someone got really passionate about brown?

I don’t want my life to be brown or taupe or grey. I want my life to be green and yellow with splashes of every other color imaginable, both literally and philosophically. And if it has to start with a new planner and colored pens, so be it. I’m ready to take a break and get artsy any way I can.

I’ve been painting my nails for over thirty years–ever since my mom gave me my first bottle of BOPO. God bless the ’80s, right? Then came the ’90s and my foray into adding stripes: pink with blue, red with purple (the Red Hatters weren’t around back then so it was legal for a pre-teen to wear this color combination), stick-on jewels, or whatever I could get away with.

As a pianist, I’ve always had short nails. But in the late ’90s my teacher required naked nails on her twin grands. Being her intern and living at the studio at least two days a week, I endured a colorless year. More noteworthy, I survived.

That experience probably fed my lust for color. In the following years, I painted often. Mom taught me at a young age to paint my dominant hand first, and while no technician, I can give myself a darn good manicure. I read articles on how to make a manicure last, and by 2010 I had mastered the art of a 10-day home manicure.

As an aside, I distinctly remember one of Mom’s friends stating that she’d never seen an empty bottle of nail polish. The stuff either dries up or we lose interest in that particular shade. It’s true! I’ve invested twenty years of research into this fascinating topic. But I digress.

Now, for all of my obsession with my nails, the hands themselves have never been well cared for. Six months of the year they suffer cuticle tears, painfully dry skin, and just plain ugliness. I keep a pair of dish gloves by my kitchen sink, but I was born in a hurry and there’s just not always time to apply gloves before whipping the kitchen back into shape after each meal. Or snack. Or cup of coffee.

Enter Renew by Melaleuca. As you can see, this hand lotion is good to the last drop.

When my kiddo arrived two years ago, I found painting my nails nearly impossible. One never knows when an infant will need to be picked up, fed, danced, or even how long they’ll stay asleep onceif they actually do drift into Dreamland. Goodbye, color. During this time the friend I mentioned here got married and I gave Jamberry Nails a try. However, I think I applied them incorrectly, because I started peeling them off before the ceremony ended.

Right before my kiddo’s arrival, Mom and I went in together on a gel nail kit. I found this to be somewhat of a compromise. Giving myself a gel manicure takes more time, but once it’s done you can resume normal life. The trick is getting the stuff off. So far, I haven’t had much success with any of the suggested removal methods: soaking in acetone, wrapping them in foil, filing the polish off, you name it. So I’ve reverted to my childhood: while watching TV, I pick at my nails until I’ve chipped off all or most of the color. This works for me since my nails are about 1/16 of an inch thick and can survive this level of abuse. It doesn’t work for my man because somehow the chips of color end up in the popcorn.

This past summer my neighbor introduced me to OPI’s Liquid Sand polish. It seemed like a dream come true–the perfect “mom polish.” Since this polish dries fast and rough (it’s supposed to be sand, after all), no one will ever know the difference if I happen to change a diaper before the polish dried and scuff one—or all—of my nails. They were rough to start with. And touch ups are quick and simple. Oh, and if you choose a light color, you can get at least 10 days out of one manicure.

Yes, I’m a little obsessive about my nails (you wouldn’t know it at the moment), but aren’t most women? For some, it’s the shape. For me, it’s the color. Either way, it’s ok. We all deserve a little pampering.

As I sit here writing, the East Coast is in the midst of the most intense snowfall in four years. Outside my window the snow is nearing two feet, and we’ve still got 13 hours of predicted snowfall to follow. Everything I see is white or grey. While beautiful, it’s a little depressing, too.

With all this white, I can think of no better time to discuss the Pantone pallet for spring 2014. There are some seriously bright, happy colors headed our way, and not a moment too soon! Just look at these visual gems:

At first I had heard that Radiant Orchid was to be the top color, but it’s becoming apparent that the color of choice is indeed Dazzling Blue—and what a rich, warm blue it is! Here you can see it in a few of my favorite jewelry pieces:

Gemma, Ombre, Rock Steady, andPacific

Which leads me to ask—how do you plan to incorporate these fun colors into your spring wardrobe? Clothes are definitely an option, but for me that’s not the wisest choice. My weight is all over the place, from pre-man to post-marriage to post-baby to pre-baby (I hope!), I’m not ready to invest in a new wardrobe that may not fit next spring or, if it does, may be the completely wrong color scheme.

My answer is always the same: accessorize! Now, while I am a jewelry diva, this includes everything—scarves, belts, handbags, glasses, shoes and, of course, jewelry. Just check out all the different ways you can incorporate these colors with the True Colors ensemble:

Now, if only I had taken a picture of my friend Kristin in her vibrant Celosia Orange scarf. When she walked into the room this week, it was instantly a brighter, happier place. Yay for color!

If you’d like to check further into the trends for spring, a great place to start is our Style Guide. You can view it on my website under the “browse the catalog” tab. The access code this month is BLING. And don’t worry—you don’t have to enter your name or email address to browse. That’s completely optional.

So go add some color to your day already! And if you’re a fellow East Coaster, stay safe and warm!

There are very few things in life I hate, but February comes pretty dang close. Part of this stems from suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which means I tend to be depressed during this short month. Thank God it is short!

After reading a few Facebook posts of friends doing what they can to brighten up this month, I decided that I was going to take my own advice from this blog post, follow their lead, and change February.

I hope you like lists. Because below is a list of some of the things I’m doing to make this February fabulous.

Get out of bed. This is where it all begins. Your body will argue that a few more minutes could make all the difference in your day, and they will—in the wrong way. Plan when you will get up and stick to it.

Turn on the lights. Yeah, it costs a little bit more in electricity (especially if, like me, you despise those “energy efficient” bastardizations of the light bulb), but it’s a quick mood-lifter.

Exercise. And straightening up the house doesn’t count. I mean hardcore lifting or cardio. Or, if you’re super amazing this way, both. I’m not. So I lift. If you can, it’s best to exercise in the morning because it gets your blood flowing and gives you that endorphin boost all day long. Since getting out to the gym is difficult to impossible for me, my current workout of choice is Jillian’s Total Body Revolution.

Get fully dressed to shoes and jewelry. Do it no matter where you work, but especially if it’s alone or at home. One simply feels happier, more successful, and prettier when dressed. It seems stupid and wasteful, especially when you start taking your makeup off at night and realize no one but you appreciated the effort. But just think—you won’t scare yourself when you run across a mirror and take a quick glance. Thank you, FlyLady!

Seriously. I’m all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Eat a good breakfast. Maybe it’s because I’ve been on a diet that requires me to actually cook something for breakfast, but this anti-breakfast chic is noticing the difference. Planning breakfast the night before helps a lot, especially before the coffee gets a chance to kick in. And you know the drill: protein, fiber, and good fats are the best combination.

Keep the music on. This is one I forget so often. It’s kind of surprising, considering that I teach music on the side. Thankfully, both my big guy and little guy love music and either the big one turns it on or the little one requests it. While you’re at it, shake up your library with suggestions from friends. Then you can be proud of yourself for increasing your musical awareness.

Make a date with some friends. Nothing brightens a day like coffee and chat…or whatever your drink of choice may be.

Read books on mental health. I feel like just a little bit of this type of reading keeps me progressing towards continual mental health. Right now I’m reading Learned Optimism. In addition to being a fun read, it’s been extremely helpful to practice the exercises.

So that’s my plan for February. Seriously, it’s going to be the best February ever.